Football is open to children between the ages of 7 and 16, with each child being placed on a team according to age, weight, and skill level. This ensures that each child has the opportunity to play with others of the same maturity and size, to enjoy themselves, and to succeed.

Each year practice starts in August with the season continuing into mid-November. Teams at the highest experience level that win the Championship for Fairfax County, will have the opportunity to compete for the Metro Bowl Championship against teams from Maryland and DC. These teams' seasons may extend as late as early December.

VYI Football will be holding a minimum of 2 in-person registrations during the summer. Please check the football homepage for dates, times, and locations. You may also pay with Check Online using the EFT option at the time of payment.

Practices typically start the first week of August and run five days a week, from Monday through Friday until school starts. After school begins, teams will practice three days per week. Players must plan to report for practice, rain or shine, from 5:45 PM to 8 PM or at a time designated by their coach. NOTE: As daylight savings time expires, the number of fields avaiable for practices is reduced (lights). When this happens, the higher weight classes will move their practices later in the evening (usually 7:30PM to 9PM).

PRACTICE FIELDS

All practice field locations are tentative and are subject to change. Please check the football homepage near the end of July for official locations.

Regular season games start the second or third week of September and conclude in mid November (later for American Conference teams advancing to the Metro Bowl). Games may be scheduled for Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

In the event of rain outs, games may be scheduled any day of the week and a significant number of rainouts may extend the season. It is highly unlikely that the season will need to be extended due to the increase in Artificial Turf fields throughout the county. Below is a listing of the VYI Home field locations as well as links to other away fields.

Game Schedule Information

Approximately 5% of FCYFL games are scheduled on weeknights (Mon-Fri).

All game scheduling is done irregardless of the Washington Redskins home or away schedule.

Weekend games are scheduled without deference to religious denominations; decisions to play in the hours/day of a game are individual. The potential exists that conflicts may occur and FCYFL is going to play the games. Parents need to know the possibility exists for a conflict and personal decisions must be made by the family to participate or not.

All game scheduling is done with the available space given to us by the individual member clubs.

When games are postponed, they must be made up as soon as possible because of limited facilities available, unpredictability of weather, and the Thanksgiving Holiday. This means games could be rescheduled as quickly as the day after a postponement!

With the introduction of the new turf fields coming on line around the county, FCYFL will schedule and reschedule games on these weatherproof sites in the best interests of finishing the season on time and not canceling any games! This scheduling pattern takes precedent over the “home” game concept experienced in the past. When possible, we will continue to schedule home games as in the past, however, “playing the game” is our most important goal. In the next few years, sport fields in our region will undergo a MAJOR renovation to synthetic turf surfaces and we must be flexible and adjust ahead of the curve.

The availability of game officials and the weather are the primary reasons for the initial schedule and schedule changes.

FCYFL has (24) member clubs from Gainesville to Alexandria, from Woodbridge to Loudon County. FCYFL tries to “look” at weekly match-ups, time and location of games when schedules are developed. However, the availability of facilities (lighted) or lack of lighted fields, significantly impacts “convenient” geographical scheduling that parents may look at as challenging at best! Teams are matched by draw not by geography, so the possibility exists in each weight class that all clubs may play any other club, anywhere in the county. We are cognizant that traffic, early morning, and late night games, are considered an inconvenience by some people. The bottom line is that in most cases we have no choice so the decision to play in the FCYFL must made knowing these conditions exist.

Games and practices may be held even when Fairfax County schools are closed due to inclement weather or holidays.

Parents should contact their team coach or league commissioner for cancelation information.

Parents may also call the Fairfax County Recreation Department Hot Line at 703-324-5264 for news on field closings. If your practice or game field is listed as closed, please verify with your coach as we are sometimes able to obtain waivers for our activities. If you are unable to verify with your coach and the County hotline says that your field is closed, you may assume that your activities (practice, game, tournament) are canceled.

All players are required to provide their own mouthpiece, football or multi-purpose cleats, athletic supporter (optional, but recommended), and practice jersey.

On the first day of practice players should wear shorts, athletic supporter, football or multi-purpose cleats, and practice jersey without pads. Players must bring their mouthpiece and the assigned helmet with the player's last name written in black ink on masking tape on the front and back of the helmet.

Fairfax County Youth Football League requires that every player have a DMV issued ID. They may be obtained by going to your local DMV. The DMV requirements change periodically and in the past they have required the player's birth certificate and three pieces of mail with the player's name and address or the parent's name and address. It is recommended that you check with the DMV prior to your visit to ensure you comply with the latest requirements.

Every player participating in the Fairfax County Youth Football League must be weighed in once each season. If the official weigh-in date is missed a late fee must be paid for each player weighing -in late. Late fees may be significant. In year's past they have been upwards of $50-$100. Please check with your child's coach or the FCYFL website for additional information on weigh-ins (fcyfl.org)

FCYFL Age and Weigh Matrix

In an effort to ensure we continue to serve our community and the largest group of children the Board of Commissioners approved a small modification to the FCYFL Age and Weight Matrix to allow all younger players to have a place to play.

In addition to the weight matrix, the FCYFL divides most of the Weight Classes into 3 development levels or Divisions. We believe that the combination of the weight matrix with the 3 skill levels will provide the vast majority of kids with the opportunity to be successful at their own pace. There are 2 exceptions to the 3 skill levels: 1) at Anklebiters (AB) all children are considered to be Developmental, and 2) at the 155lb weight class where participation levels prevent splitting into multiple teams and the majority of the kids are on the last stage before moving on to High School football.

This Age and Weight Matrix is OFFICIAL. Until such time as the Official Rules are updated, the below matrix will continue to serve as the OFFICIAL matrix. The minimum weight requirement for participating is 40lbs for AB and 56lbs for other weight classes. Players must weigh at or greater than the minimum by the official weigh-in (Typically mid-to-late August).

FCYFL Age Matrix

(If you have any questions regarding this age matrix, please contact your local club's commissioner.)

Birthday Age Cutoff Dates: Ages 7-11 and 14 - Age on October 1; Ages 15-16 - 15 year olds that turn 16 on or before December 31st must play 155lbs. No player that turns 17 on or before December 31st is eligible to play.

Age on October 1 (See exceptions for 15 and 16 year olds)

Weight Class

7

8

9

10

11

12*

13*

14

15**

16***

AB*

UNL

90

55

80LB

Unlimited/100*

90

85

80

90LB

Unlimited/110*

100

95

90

100LB

Unlimited/120*

110

105

100

115LB

Unlimited/135*

125

120

115

130LB

Unlimited/150*

140

135

130

155LB

Unlimited/175*

Unlimited/165*

160

155

* Anklebiters over 70lbs and Unlimited Players at all weight classes above Anklebiters are not eligible to play in a position that normally handles the ball unless they are at or below the listed maximum ball carrier weight (the weight limit listed next to "UNL/" on the chart above). Positions excluded for unlimited players exceeding the maximum ball carrier limit include all offensive backfield positions, all eligible receivers and tight end positions, and any position not on the first line of a special teams formation. Exceptions include the offensive positions of center, punter, and placekicker. See official rules for details at www.fcyfl.org.

** 15 year olds that turn 16 on or before December 31st must play 155lbs.

*** 16 year olds that turn 17 on or before December 31st are not eligible to play.

** 15 year olds that turn 16 on or before December 31st must play 155lbs.
*** 16 year olds that turn 17 on or before December 31st are not eligible to play.

Fundraising is a key factor in our success. All players and parents are asked to support the league's efforts to provide funding for equipment, facilities, officials, and other needs of the program. These activities include Booster Day (Players), and a $10,000 (Parents) raffle. Our success in fundraising allows us to maintain one of the lowest registration fees in the county.

The $10,000 Raffle drawing is held at the annual Halloween dance. Prior to that time players and their parents are asked to sell raffle tickets, one of which will win the $10,000 prize. For more information on the $10,000 Raffle, contact Bob Forbes at 281-7848.

The annual VYI DANCE and $10,000 raffle drawing is usually held the Saturday prior to Halloween. All parents and coaches are encouraged to come join in on the fun. Costumes are optional. Tickets will be sold in advance and can be purchased from a football representative or from the snack bar at Waters Field. For more information contact your team mom/parent or coach.

These fundraising efforts provide families with an alternative to paying directly for their child. This allows families the choice of doing fundraising, or if a family does not want to help raise funds (and just wants to write a check) through these activities, they are expected to make a direct contribution to the program in the amount (minimally) set by the Commissioner as a per player goal at the beginning of the season.

VYI encourages families to participate in the activities, rather than writing a check directly. We believe that, among the many benefits, the most important is that the children gain valuable insight into what it takes to fund and operate an organization as successful as VYI.

Teams that make the playoffs will be awarded trophies at the annual awards ceremony.

The majority of VYI teams make the playoffs, so most children will earn a trophy. If your team does not make the playoffs, it is up to your particular coach as to whether the team will purchase trophies or other awards for the players. In this case, the trophies/awards are provided by the coach and/or parents and are not purchased by the league.

Other Awards

Randy Morgan Award

Each year a special Randy Morgan Award is presented to an 85lb lineman that demonstrates outstanding character and leadership. The recipient will have their name added to a plaque displayed in the Vienna Community Center trophy case.

High School Player of the Year

If your child participates in a minimum of 4 seasons of any sport with VYI and continues to participate in sports through their High School years - whether with their high school or VYI - they will be eligible for other VYI Player of the Year Awards at the end of their senior year. This is in addition to the VYI scholarship program (details may be found on our vyi.org homepage).

FCYFL Player of the Year

If your coach believes your child represents the best of what football is about, they may nominate your child for the FCYFL Player of the Year Award for your child's weight class and conference. If your child is active in the community, takes their academics seriously, and represents what in best in sports and football, talk to your coach early in the season about this process. One of the biggest hurdles coaches face when making nominations is that they often do not know about a child's outside activities. By making your coach aware of your child's contributions to the community at an early stage, it will help your coach later down the road when he/she is considering who to nominate from their team.